New Soybean Performance System Planned

56 soybean varieties, with a maturity range of 0 to 4, are planned for the initial launch of the system. It features tolerance to glyphosate and isoxaflutole, a new active ingredient for weed control in soybeans.

Rowen Ziegler says he hasn’t found weed resistance on his Illinois farm yet, but he knows its close by.

"It’s not more than a few miles south of me, and that’s too close for comfort," says Ziegler, a corn and soybean grower from LaHarpe and the production committee chairman for the Illinois Soybean Association.

For now, Ziegler uses multiple herbicide modes of action and rotates between the RoundupReady and LibertyLink soybean systems to keep herbicide-resistant waterhemp and other tough-to-control weeds out of his fields.

In 2015, Ziegler and other soybean farmers may have a new option to consider: the Balance GT soybean performance system (also referred to as Event FG72).

Balance GT features tolerance to glyphosate and isoxaflutole. The latter is an HPPD inhibitor herbicide, often termed a bleacher product, currently used only in the corn market and sold under the trade name Balance Flexx. For soybeans, the product will be called Balance Bean.

The new soybean system is expected to be available in the United States and Canada upon registration, according to Lauren August, MS Technologies brand manager.

August says 56 soybean varieties, with a maturity range of 0 to 4, are planned for the initial launch of the system.

"We expect to have an additional 225 new varieties coming shortly thereafter," she says.

Stine Seed Company is the initial licensee for the system. Other companies are also expected to license the technology, she adds.

August detailed the new Balance GT system benefits in a video with Farm Journal during the 2013 Commodity Classic in Orlando. More information is also available at BalanceGTsoybeans.com.